Judge Robert Sweet
Pechota specializes in immigration law. In 1998, he was contacted by Koch and his Czech wife, Vladimira, to obtain “green card” permanent resident status for Valdimira. Pechota was formally retained under a May 18, 2000, agreement. On Jan. 5, 2002, conditional “green cards” valid for two years were issued to Vladimira and her son Michael. Following the marriage’s 2003 collapse, Vladimira’s and Michael’s status lapsed in 2005. Vladimira sued Pechota claiming he did not take action to remove the green cards’ conditions. Noting their differing versions of Pechota’s representation, the court denied Pechota dismissal of Vladimira’s claims of legal malpractice and breaches of fiduciary duty and duty of an agent. Under Protostorm v. Antonelli, Terry, Stout & Kraus, disputed facts over the duration and extent of Pechota’s representation, and the date of any alleged malpractice barred summary judgment for Pechota. The court also denied remand. Distinguishing Mensah v. World Truck, it noted that although Pechota’s conduct might have played a role in the state action against Vladimira’s former divorce attorneys, the nature of his alleged malpractice was qualitatively different from the allegations against Vladimira’s divorce lawyers.
